Queens Sex With a Minor

It is against the law to have sexual contact with a child. Under New York Penal Law you will have committed rape, sexual abuse or some other form of sexual assault if you have sex without the consent of the other person. The law provides that with a few specified exceptions, children lack the ability to consent to sex. Thus, if you perform a sex act with a minor, you could face a sexual assault charge based on statutory rape. This means even if the minor initiated the sex or clearly appeared to consent, you will face serious criminal charges. The younger the minor involved the more serious the charge you will face. Because the possible severe consequences of being convicted of a crime related to having sex with a child, if you are accused of having sex with a child, you should immediately contact an experienced Queens Sex with a Minor Lawyer who will review the facts of your case and aggressively defend you against you against the charges.

Rape in the third degree is the least severe rape charge based on sex with a child. You will be charged with rape in the third degree if you are at least 21 year old and have sexual intercourse with a minor who is less than 17 years old. It is a Class E felony. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.25

You will be charged with rape in the second degree if you are 18 or older and have sexual intercourse with a minor who is less than 15 years old. For this charge you also must be four or more years older than other person. It is a Class D felony. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.30.

Rape in the first degree is the most serious rape charge. You will face this charge based on having sex with a minor if you have sexual intercourse with someone who is age 11 or younger, or if you are at least 18 years old and have sexual intercourse with someone who is less than 13 years old. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.35. It is a Class B felony.

You will be charged with criminal sexual act in the third degree if you have oral or anal sex with a minor who is younger than 17 years old. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.40. It is a Class E felony with a possible sentence of up to 4 years in prison. The charge will be raised to second degree criminal sexual act if you are at least 18 years old and the other person is a child who is younger than 13 years old, or you are at least 4 years older than the victim. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.45. It is a Class D felony with a possible sentence of up to 7 years in prison. Criminal sexual act in the first degree involves having oral or anal sex with a child who is less than 11, or with a minor who is younger than 13 if you are at least 18 years old. It is a Class B felony. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.50. The possible sentence is up to 25 years in prison.

The charge of sexual abuse in the third degree involves having sexual contact with a child who is 15 or 16 years old and you are at least 5 years older than that minor. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.55. Sexual contact is defined as the touching of the intimate sexual parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification. Sexual abuse in the third degree a Class B misdemeanor with a possible sentence of up to 3 months in jail. The sexual abuse charged with be raised to sexual abuse in the second degree if you have sexual contact with a minor who is less than 14 years old. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.60. It is a Class A misdemeanor with a possible sentence of up to 1 year in jail. The most serious sexual abuse charge is sexual abuse in the first degree. You will face this charge if you have sexual contact with a child who is less than 11 years old. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.65. It is Class D felony with a possible sentence of up to 7 years in prison.

Sexual misconduct involves having oral sex, anal sex, or sexual intercourse with a child who is less than 17 years old. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.20. It is a Class A misdemeanor with a possible sentence of up to 1 year in jail.

Course of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree is a charge reserved for people who repeatedly sexually assault a child. You will face this charge if you engage in at least 2 instances of sexual conduct with a child who is under 11 years old in a period of at least 3 months. You will also face this charge if you are at least 18 years old and the child is less than 13 years old. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.80.

Course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree is similar to the charge of a course of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree, except the sexual conduct involves sexual intercourse, oral sex, anal sex, or aggravated sexual conduct. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.75. As this crime is a Class B felony if you are convicted you will be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.

Predatory sexual assault against a child is the crime you will be charged with if you cause physical injury or use the threat of physical injury during the while committing rape in the first degree, criminal sexual act in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree, or course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree and you are at least 18 years old and the child is less than 13 years old. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.96. Because it is a Class A-II felony, if you are convicted you face a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 25 years.

Furthermore, if you are charged with having sex with a minor, you may also face other charges such as endangering the welfare of a child. N.Y. Pen. Law § 260.10.

Defenses to a Sex with a Minor Charge

The sexual assault statute provides 2 important defenses or exemptions to a sex crime charge based on having sex with a minor: Romeo and Juliet exemption and the marriage exemption.

Romeo and Juliet exemption. Most sex crime statutes are very specific about the age requirements for the charge to apply or not apply. The so-called Romeo and Julie rules exempt from certain sex crime charges a person who has sex with a minor if that minor is close in age to that person. For example, an 18 year old will be charged with rape in the second degree if he or she has sex with a 14 year old, but will not face that charge if he or she has sex with a 15 year old. The Romeo and Juliet exemption does not apply to anyone who has sex with a child is under 11 years old regardless of the age difference. Furthermore, the Romeo and Juliet exemption will not protect you if lack of consent is based on the use of physical compulsion. Physical compulsion is defined as the use of physical force or the use of a threat of death, physical injury, or kidnapping. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.00(8)

Marriage exemption. If you are legally married to the minor, you cannot be charged with child sexual assault based on age. N.Y. Pen. Law § 130.10.

Sex Offender Registration Requirement

If you are convicted of statutory rape or any sex crime based on having sex with a minor, not only is it likely that will you be sentenced to prison your sentence will also include the requirement that you register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). This means that you will have to provide detailed information about yourself to a designated law enforcement agency that will be added to a special database. The information that you will be required to provide includes your name, aliases, home address, the crime of which you were convicted, your sentence, your email addresses, your online screen names, and your photograph. You will be required to verify such information on a regular basis. If your address changes or if you get a new email address or screen name, you are required to let law enforcement know within 10 days. Furthermore, if you do move out of the jurisdiction, you will be required to registered with law enforcement of your new jurisdiction.

If you present a particularly high risk of re-offending, your sex offender registration information will be available to the public. This means that anyone could go online and find out that you are a sex offender and also find out other details about you. Under the SORA you will have to register for either 20 years or for the rest of your life.

If you are facing sex crime charges based on allegations that you had sex with a child, you should take the charges seriously and immediately consult an experienced Queens Sex with a Minor Lawyer. There may be defenses that apply to your case that will help get the charges reduced or dismissed. The staff at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC has years of experience successfully representing clients in New York criminal courts who were accused of statutory rape, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child as well as other crimes. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We serve those accused of sex crimes in the following locations:

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